


Fighting Fate

by Settiai



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Gen, Ghosts, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2003-09-26
Updated: 2003-09-26
Packaged: 2017-11-27 08:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/660145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Scoobies discover Glory's plan earlier than destiny intended, they leave for Los Angeles... only to discover that Angel and his friends have mysteriously disappeared. They have nowhere else to go, and time is running out. Fate has its own plans. [Note: unfinished and abandoned - brief summary of unwritten chapters included.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally intended to be part one of a three part series called the Kismet Trilogy. I had a general idea where the story was going to go, and I had short chapter summaries written out for each of the thirteen chapters in each of the three stories. I kept going back to it and rewriting the earlier chapters, meaning to get back to writing it, but my interest in writing for the Jossverse fandoms just kept waning.
> 
> At this point, I doubt that I'll ever actually go back to working on this series. I'm uploaded it here more for completion's sake than anything else.

Rupert Giles let out a tired sigh as he placed another book on the ever-growing pile beside him. He hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours, and it was starting to take its toll. Until he found some information on the hell goddess known as Glorificus, however, his own exhaustion was the last thing on his mind. There had to be something written about her, somewhere inside all of the texts in the Magic Box. If only he could find it.

A sudden breeze wafted through the room, ruffling his short hair slightly, and Giles shot his head up from the table. His eyes quickly darted around the shadowy room, pausing for a moment on the tightly closed door. A slight frown of confusion appeared on his face before he warily turned his attention back to the large book that was spread open in front of him.

Without warning, another wind burst through the room, this one stronger than the first. Papers that had been precariously stacked around the room were pulled into the air, spinning around in the breeze's grasp almost as if they were possessed. Giles's eyes widened a bit, but he merely stood up and let his eyes drift across the room. After a moment, a determined expression appeared on his tired face, and his eyes glinted with resolve. Before he could say a word, however, a small, unobtrusive-looking book shot off of one of the shelves and flew towards him.

Reacting on pure instinct, Giles jerked to the side as the book flew by his head -- missing him by mere inches -- and landed on the table with a loud thud. Then, almost as if someone was standing there flipping through it, the book opened and its pages flew apart. After a moment, they slowly stopped moving, and the book lay open on a page approximately halfway through it. The wind that had been wafting through the room came to a halt, releasing its grip on the papers and causing them to drift to the floor. The Magic Box slowly sank back into silence, leaving a very confused Watcher standing in the middle of the room.

Giles stood there for a few seconds, the expression on his face one of clear uncertainty as he stared at the mess that surrounded him. If not for the papers that were spread all over the floor around him, he would have been certain that his tired mind had been playing tricks on him. As it was, however, that didn't appear to be very likely.

After almost a minute had passed, he seemed to notice the book laying on the table for the first time. Almost as if he was in a trance, the Watcher slowly reached out and picked it up. His eyes drifted over the page, and he felt a startled gasp catch in his throat as the word "Glorificus" seemed to jump out at him from the page.

As his gaze moved down the page, Giles felt his amazement and shock building. He silently mouthed the words he was reading before dropping the book back onto the table and pulling himself swiftly to his feet. Moving more quickly than he had thought was possible in his fatigued state, he rushed over to the counter and grabbed the small calendar that Anya had placed there. His eyes ran over the dates, a glint shining in them that could only be described as feverish. Within moments, he was already reaching for the phone sitting nearby.

Before his hand had made it halfway to the phone, Giles froze it in midair. An expression of startled realization appeared on his face as he caught the faintest waft of a familiar scent. In his mind's eyes, he saw the look of surprised joy that had appeared on Joyce's face when he had handed her the small bottle of perfume as a birthday present just a few short months earlier. 

"I'll be damned," he whispered softly.

*

Buffy Summers let out a tired yawn as Giles sat down in the chair across from her. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and her face was bare of the usual makeup she wore to hide her ever present exhaustion. Her Watcher couldn't help but stare at her for a moment, an expression of worry on his face as he took in the dark circles under her eyes and the look of almost complete hopelessness in her eyes. She didn't give him much time to contemplate her appearance though.

"Giles, it's four o'clock in the morning," Buffy said with a yawn. "This better be good."

Giles gave her a tired smile before letting his gaze drift past her and focus on the picture of Joyce that was hanging on the wall. For just a moment, a distant expression appeared in them, as if he was seeing something that no one else could. His reverie was broken after a few seconds though, when Buffy once again repeated his name -- this time in a slightly worried tone. 

"Giles, is something wrong?" she asked quietly, her eyes catching his own in their stare.

He started, his eyes moving away from the photo and once again focusing on his Slayer. The exhausted look was still showing clearly on her face, but it was close to being overshadowed by the concern that he saw in her eyes. Mentally berating himself for giving her the impression that yet another problem had come up, her Watcher quickly shook his head. 

"No, there's nothing wrong," he said hurriedly. 

Much of the concern faded from her face, but a hint of worry still shone in her eyes. Giles could see that she was struggling to keep her emotions in check, and he waited patiently while she came up with a remark that would mask her uncertainties. 

"If there's nothing wrong, then would you mind telling me why the hell you're sitting in my living room at four in the morning, holding a cup of coffee that's been cold for the last ten minutes?"

At her words, Giles glanced down at his hands in surprise. Sure enough, there was a cup of coffee gripped tightly in his right hand. He let out a quiet chuckle and smiled sheepishly at Buffy. Then, his face once more becoming solemn, he glanced up at the ceiling, knowing that Dawn was up there asleep. 

"It's about Dawn," he said softly, drawing Buffy's undivided attention toward him. "Glory needs her blood."

Buffy blinked in surprise as she stared at her Watcher. For a moment there was a startled expression on her face, but it quickly faded into one of resignation. 

"Fine, she needs Dawn's blood," she said quietly, her voice calm and steady as she spoke. "We suspected as much. All we have to do is keep Glory from getting it until we kill her or she kills us."

Giles shook his head, an unreadable expression shining on his face. "No, that's actually not correct. According to some text that--" He hesitated for just a moment. "--I discovered, Glory has only a limited amount of time to use the Key. If we can keep Dawn out of her grasp for the next three weeks or so, then--"

He trailed off as Buffy's eyes flashed with sudden understanding. She stared at him for a moment before her face broke into her first real smile since her mother's death. Then, so suddenly that it startled even Giles, she sprung out of her chair and headed for the nearest phone. 

"If we need to keep Dawn away from Glory for three weeks, then I think that it's time for us to leave Sunnydale for awhile," she asked, her back still toward him. Then she spun around to face him once more. "What do you think?"

Giles smiled gently before slowly pulling himself to his feet. He had just began to nod when Buffy spoke again, her next words sending his cup of coffee crashing to the floor with a loud shattering sound. 

"We're going to need all the help we can get, no matter who it is, so how does the Hyperion Hotel in Los Angeles sound to you?"

*

Xander Harris' voice rang through the Summers' home, a slightly disbelieving tone still in it.

"Running away from the evil hell god who wants to kill us all. I understand that. Telling Dawn's teachers, my boss, and Willow and Tara's professors that we have family emergencies and won't be back for a couple of weeks. Kind of unoriginal, but it still works. Going to L.A. and staying with Angel for the next three weeks. That's where my confusion comes in."

He raised an eyebrow and shot Buffy a curious look. "Didn't the two of you decide to stay away from each other?"

Buffy let out an annoyed sigh before sending a glare in the direction of her friend. "Dawn's in danger," she said in a no-nonsense tone. "Angel and his friends can help us keep her safe. We're leaving in less than an hour. Deal with it."

The dark-haired man opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off as his girlfriend wrapped her arms tightly around him. 

"You're making the Slayer mad," Anya said pointedly, "and she looks like she's about to attack you. If she attacks you, we'll have to put you in a full-body cast, and then how would we have sex tonight? You promised that it would be special, to make up for your inadequate performance this morn--"

Xander's face suddenly turned white, and then red, as he quickly placed a hand over her mouth. "Anya!"

He glanced back at the others, his face still rather crimson, before shrugging helplessly. 

"I want to say one more time that I'm totally against going to stay with Angel. Now, if you'll give us a minute, I need to go have a talk with Anya."

Still gripping his girlfriend tightly, he hurried out of the kitchen, leaving a rather stony-faced Buffy at the table and an unamused Giles standing near the doorway. 

"I never thought that I would say this, but I have to agree with Xander," Giles said softly, his words aimed directly at Buffy. "As much as I concur that we need to leave Sunnydale immediately, the reason why we are going to Los Angeles instead of, for example, England, still escapes me."

"We aren't powerful enough to protect Dawn by ourselves," Buffy stated matter-of-factly. "If we go to L.A., we get a vampire, a former Watcher, a seer, and whoever -- or whatever -- else works for Angel added to our side of the fight."

Buffy's voice was firm as she stared Giles right in the eyes. Without saying a word, she stood up so that she was looking straight at him. A determined light shone in her eyes, and it was obvious to her Watcher that the young woman's mind was made up. 

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke again, but her gaze was focused intently on Giles. "I've already lost my mother, and I'll be damned if I'm going to lose my sister too."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, the sound of someone clearing their throat sounded throughout the room. Both Buffy and Giles turned their attention to the door, where Willow was standing, a hesitant expression on her face. 

"On that note, an RV just pulled up outside with all of its windows covered with foil," the red-haired woman said, a worried expression on her face.

Buffy let a small smile appear on her face for a moment before she started heading for the door. "Tell everyone to get their stuff together… our ride's here."

As the Slayer walked out of the room, Giles and Willow shared a slightly worried look. "Did Buffy tell you who our driver is?" he asked softly

"No," Willow answered with a shake of her head. "Did she tell you?"

"Unfortunately not," he replied, a grim light in his eyes. "However, I have a dreadful feeling of foreboding."

*

As Buffy and Giles walked up to the RV, they heard an angry cry come from inside, followed moments later by Xander stomping out. The young man ignored the blonde Slayer for a second and instead let his eyes meet Giles'.

"She's your Slayer," he said pointedly, "so do something with her."

Xander then turned his gaze towards Buffy and gave her a disbelieving look before stomping back into the Winnebago. Giles let his eyes meet the Slayer's, a wary expression shining in them. 

"What was that about?" he asked suspiciously.

She merely shrugged, pulled her duffel bag a little higher on her shoulder, and climbed into the motor home. Giles glanced at her once more before picking up his own suitcase with a sigh and following her into the vehicle. As soon as he entered the RV, he let his eyes quickly drift through the small room. Tara, Willow, and Anya were sitting at a small table, luggage piled on the floor around them. Buffy was standing near them, carefully placing her own bag with theirs.

Giles moved his gaze away from the girls and focused in on Xander, who was standing near him with an expression on his face that suggested he was considering murdering someone. Wondering briefly if he even wanted to know, he moved his eyes towards the driver's area. As soon as he did, the Watcher found himself doing a double-take -- even though he had been expecting it.

Spike was sitting in the driver's seat, a ridiculous-looking pair of black goggles covering his eyes. In the passenger seat beside him sat Dawn, her legs curled up under her and a slightly vacant expression in her dark eyes. Giles stared for a moment before turning back towards Buffy, whose attention wasn't even on him. 

"What's he doing here?" he asked with a sigh.

The blond vampire gave Giles an impish grin as he turned towards him. "Just out for a jaunt, Rupes. Thought I'd swing by and say howdy."

Giles clenched his fists and glared at Spike. "Out."

Buffy finally turned her attention back to her Watcher, a reproachful expression on her face that surprised even Giles. "He's here because we need him," she said wryly.

Xander snapped his eyes away from Spike and quickly focused them on the blonde-haired Slayer. Fire seemed to dance across his face as his thoughts jumped out of his mouth. "The hell we do."

Anger flashing in her own eyes, Buffy took a rather large step towards the dark-haired man. "If Glory finds us before we get to L.A., he's the only one besides me that would even stand a chance. He's coming with us."

Both Giles and Xander let out loud exclamations, and for a moment it appeared three of them were considering killing each other. Dawn's quiet voice suddenly cut through their angry arguments, however, causing everyone to turn and stare at the young girl.

"There's a hell goddess around here somewhere who wants to kill all of us, especially me, remember?" she said angrily. "Save the arguments for later."

A determined look on her face unlike anything the others had ever seen, Dawn then turned towards Spike. Grabbing the arm of her seat, she nodded her head in his direction. "Los Angeles, Jeeves."

The blond vampire grinned before putting the RV in gear and suddenly driving off. Behind them, the sound of muffled curses in several different languages mingled with several loud crashes and thumps, but Spike seemed oblivious to them as he turned his eyes towards Dawn. 

"Yes ma'am," he answered with an exaggerated salute.

*

Spike shook his head as the Winnebago swerved, causing all of its passengers to grab the nearest stable object. Making sure to speak loud enough for the driver to hear, he voiced his complaints. "After living in America for five years, you'd think a person would know which side of the road to drive on."

Both Tara and Dawn bit back laughter as Giles glanced back long enough to glare in Spike's direction, while Willow struggled to keep a straight face. Buffy, however, never even glanced up from the book she was studying. When the vampire looked closely though, he could see the hint of a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. Grinning slightly in victory, he once again leaned back against the wall. 

"You know, I can't wait to see Angel stake you on sight," Xander said weakly.

Moving his eyes so that they were focused on Xander, Spike raised his right hand and made a gesture that needed no explanation. Before the dark-haired man, who seemed a little pale to him, could retaliate, however, the vampire turned his attention towards Buffy. 

"Tell me, pet, what did my old buddy Angel say when you told him I was coming with you?" he asked innocently.

Without even glancing up from the book she was reading, Buffy shrugged. "I didn't get an answer when I called the Hyperion, so Angel doesn't know that we're coming."

At those words, the RV once again swerved -- causing most of its occupants to grab the table in order to keep their balance. After a moment, the vehicle slowed down and moved over to the side of the road. As soon as it had come to a complete stop, Giles turned in his seat and swiveled his head in Buffy's direction. 

"What?" he asked in surprise.

Buffy sat in silence for a moment before standing up and moving her eyes in Giles' direction. She shrugged slightly before picking up the book she was studying and heading for the small room in the back. 

"They don't know we're coming," she repeated, "so we might want to try and get there by dark."

Without saying another word, she walked into the back room and shut the door firmly behind her with a loud click that seemed to echo through the entire room. For a moment, no one moved other than to glance at each other with surprise shining in their eyes. After a few seconds, however, Spike pulled himself from his seat on the floor and dropped down into Buffy's vacant chair. Ignoring the stares and dirty looks aimed in his direction, the vampire pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and calmly lit it.

He took a few puffs of the cigarette before pulling it from his mouth and meeting Giles' reproachful gaze. 

"You heard the lady, didn't you?" he asked, smirking slightly when Giles grudgingly nodded. "Well then, why are you still sitting on your arse gaping at me? Come on, Watcher, let's go visit Angel and company."

*

Buffy pulled her knees towards her as she slowly sank down onto the floor. The book she had been studying was already there, forgotten by the young woman. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears, and worry seemed to have taken its toll on her. Though the dark circles under her eyes were covered in layers of makeup, they were still faintly visible on her face -- making her seem much older than her twenty years.

She sat there for a few minutes, taking in shallow breaths to help keep her tears from falling. When she finally had them under control, Buffy let a small smile appear on her face as she leaned back against the wall. She gently closed her eyes and let familiar sights and faces flash through her mind. Compared to the Hellmouth, just how bad could Los Angeles be?

*

Angel paused for a moment as a sudden shiver shot up his spine. It quickly faded, however, but a lingering feeling of worry was left running through him. Taking in several deep breaths, even though they were unnecessary, he let his eyes close for an instant. As they shut, Buffy's face appeared in his mind, her eyes red and bloodshot and her skin so pale that it appeared almost white.

"Something up?" Gunn asked worriedly.

Angel quickly shot his eyes open and turned his head so that he was facing the group of people behind him. "I'm not sure," he answered with a slightly shrug.

He moved his gaze around them once more, silently taking in the sunlight that had been denied from him for over two hundred years. "I have a strange feeling that something is wrong, but I'm not sure--"

Angel's voice trailed off as the Host let out a strangled-sounding laugh. "Angelcakes, we're in a dimension that makes hell seem like a nice vacation spot, and you're just now getting a feeling that something _might_ be wrong?"

The vampire once more shrugged his shoulders before turned to back around. Buffy's pale face, drawn with worry and obviously in need of help, flashed again in his mind as he quietly responded to Lorne's words. 

"I guess that you're probably right."

*

Giles let out a curse as he quickly spun the Winnebago's steering wheel, once again causing its passengers to grab the nearest stable object in order to avoid being thrown to the floor. Willow and Tara sat beside each other at the table, their eyes focused on a large book that lay open in from of them. Spike and Dawn were sitting across from one another, a small pile of change in the center of the table, playing what appeared to be a game of poker. Xander, his face pale and ill-looking, sat beside Anya, who was looking anxiously around the room.

"Shouldn't somebody be asking 'Are we there yet?'" she asked curiously.

Willow and Tara looked up from their book long enough to share an amused smile, while Spike and Dawn didn't even move their attention away from the cards they held. Xander, his face turning slightly green as the RV hit another bump, gave his girlfriend a placating smile. She merely frowned, however, and turned her gaze directly onto him. "Isn't that what small, entertaining children do?"

Dawn finally turned his attention from her cards as she turned her eyes towards the former vengeance demon. 

"Yeah, but considering the fact that you aren't a small, entertaining child--" She trailed off and glared at the vampire sitting across from her. "Spike, put that card back right now!"

The teenager quickly reached out and swatted the vampire's hand away from the pile of cards sitting in the middle of the table. As she did this, Anya cocked his head a bit, obviously pondering Dawn's words. After a few moments, her eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded in understanding -- seconds before turning her eyes towards the driver's seat. 

"Are we there yet?" she asked eagerly.

Before Giles could answer, Spike let out a low chuckle. He turned his blue eyes towards Anya, a smirk already planted on his face. "The way Captain Slowpoke drives, we might never get to Los Angeles."

Turning his gaze towards Giles, who was gripping the wheel tightly and furiously clenching his teeth, the blond vampire shook his head a tad. "Hey! Gramps! Bloody step on it!" 

The Watcher moved his eyes from the road for an instant, turned his head just long enough to send a murderous glare in Spike's direction. 

"Step on what?" he questioned with a sarcastic tone in his voice. "I've driven tricycles with more power."

As the words left Giles' mouth, the Winnebago suddenly started to jostle and bump. Everyone in the room looked up, their faces each a mixture of amusement and annoyance. Xander, however, merely let out a groan, his face turning a grayish color. 

"Is anyone else queasy?" he asked weakly.

Her previous questions forgotten, Anya quickly started to rub his arm sympathetically. "He doesn't travel well," she explained to the others. 'He's like fine shrimp."

As a nauseas expression appeared on Xander's face at the mention of shrimp, Spike smirked and turned his attention back to Dawn and the poker game. 

"Dealer takes two," he said, an impish grin making its way onto his face. "You know, 'Bit, I should've nicked that Porsche I had my eyes on. There was just enough room for me, you, and big sis."

A smirk quite similar to his own appeared on the teenager's face, but it faded as Xander shot Spike a queasy glare. Moving her eyes in his direction for a moment, she quickly turned her attention back to the cards she was holding -- trying her best to ignore the one-fingered solute that the vampire was sending in his direction.

The dark-haired man let out an exasperated moan before pulling himself to his feet and moving to the front of the vehicle. With a groan, Xander then dropped into the passenger seat beside Giles. "That guy is bloodsucking the last nerve right outta me, G-man," he muttered.

Giles shot the younger man an annoyed look before shrugging his shoulders slightly. "First of all, never call me that again," he said irritably. "Second, Buffy does have a point. In a confrontation, Spike may prove--"

He paused for a moment as he caught sight of the bag that Spike had brought with him. It almost appeared as if it were... 

"Xander," Giles said suddenly, "please tell me that I am not seeing Spike's bag moving on its own."

The younger man spun his head around so that he could stare at the bag for a moment. After a minute or so, however, he turned back around and quickly focused his eyes on the foil that covered most of the windshield. "I'm not even going to ask," he whispered with a sigh.

They sat there in silence for a few seconds, trying to force several frightening images out of their minds. After a short while, though, Xander turned his gaze towards Giles once again. "You know, you never told us exactly how you found that text on Glory. What exactly did you mean when you said that you had some help from beyond? Was it some kind of ghost or something?"

At his words, Giles started and spun the steering wheel a little too far to the side. In the passenger seat, Xander's face turned even paler as the Watcher hurriedly tried to get the Winnebago back on the road. Meanwhile, several loud squeals came from those who were gathered around the table as Spike's bag flew open, releasing what appeared to be an angry whirl of fur, teeth, and claws.

Moments later, a loud clanging noise erupted in the back as Anya grabbed a frying pan and started using it to try and hit the fast-moving creature. A quiet curse from Spike, followed by a loud "Bloody hell!" seemed to sum up the situation nicely.

*

Buffy looked up in surprise as the door to the room opened just enough for Dawn to slide through it. The younger girl's right arm had a large, still-bleeding scratch stretching from her wrist to her elbow, and there was an amused twinkle in her eyes that send a shiver up her sister's spine.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked sheepishly.

Her words were followed almost immediately by a loud crash from the main room, followed by a stream of expletives that sounded surprisingly like they were coming from Xander. Without saying a word, Buffy raised an eyebrow in question, which Dawn answered very quickly with one long breath. 

"Don't worry. It's not like Giles is muttering something about haunted shops over and over, while swerving all of the road and making Xander's carsickness even worse. And there's no way that a calico kitten Spike won in a poker game last night -- they play for kittens, did you know that? Anyway, there's no way that the nonexistent kitten somehow sneaked into his bag and is running wild out there while Anya tries to hit it with a frying pan. Oh, and I haven't been playing poker with Spike, or--"

 

Dawn's voice trailed off as Buffy's eyes widened as she stared at the inconspicuous-looking door. 

"Ah. Well, I think that I'm going to... go back out there since none of that stuff is going on," Dawn said with a fake-looking grin.

 

The younger girl quickly turned around and grabbed the door handle. Before she turned it, however, a faint smile appeared on her face, and she quietly moved her gaze back towards her sister. 

"Thanks," she whispered.

 

A puzzled expression slowly made its way onto Buffy's face as she stared at the younger girl in confusion. "Thanks?" she asked, a surprised look on her face. "For what?"

Dawn shrugged her shoulders slightly, her eyes unusually bright. "You know, pretty much everything. Being strong while everything else falls apart."

Buffy smiled slightly, though tears were starting to form in her eyes. "Yeah. Sure. I just keep coming through," the blonde girl whispered. "Glory. Riley. You. Mom."

 

The dark-haired teenager let out a quiet sigh before turning around and sinking to the floor beside Buffy. They sat there in silence for a moment, listening to the various crashes and curses coming from the other side of the door. After a few seconds, however, Dawn finally spoke. 

"I know," she said softly. "But there's a bright side."

Buffy reached up and quickly wiped the unshed tears from her eyes before shooting a skeptical look at her sister. "Oh really?" she asked sardonically. "And what might that be?"

Dawn shrugged slightly, a slight smirk planted on her face. "At least things can't get any crazier, right?"

Mere seconds after the words left her mouth, an arrow flew through the window -- sending shattered glass flying throughout the room -- and landed in the wall near Buffy. Dawn stared at it in horror as the Slayer gave her a look that could almost be described as amused. 

"You know this is your fault for saying that," she said pointedly.

 

The younger girl shot her an unamused glare as Buffy pulled down a corner of the Venetian blinds. The Slayer's eyes widened a considerable amount as exactly what she was seeing clicked in her mind, followed by Dawn letting out a startled gasp as she pushed past the older girl in order to see. A large group of knights, most of them on horseback, were speedily closing on the vehicle.

As she let the blinds drop back into their original position, Buffy let out a tired sigh. 

"And it just keeps coming," she whispered softly.

*

As Buffy and Dawn rushed into the main cabin, most of the others looked up in surprise. Willow and Tara sat on one side of the table, holding the aforementioned kitten which kept hissing whenever its eyes moved in Anya's direction. The ex-demon, in return, was sitting at the opposite end of the table, shooting dirty looks at the small feline as she carefully wrapped a cloth around Xander's hand -- which seemed to be swelling at an unusually fast rate.

"It really isn't my fault that your hand appears very similar to an angry kitten," she said apologetically.

Spike was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, nursing a large scratch on his hand and ignoring the threatening glares that kept being thrown in his direction. The five of them froze in place, however, as Buffy's frantic voice rang through the room. "Giles!"

The Watcher didn't even move his eyes from the road as he edgily answered his Slayer's warning. "I see them," he said testily.

At those words, the rest of the Scoobies seemed to unfreeze as they looked around in uncertainty. It was Spike, however, who voiced the question they were all thinking. "See who?"

 

His question was answered as an arrow suddenly appeared in the wall beside him, inches away from piercing his skin. Xander's voice, thick with amazement, sounded throughout the room. 

"Arrows!" he exclaimed. "They're throwing arrows!"

 

As more arrows appeared in the Winnebago's walls, Buffy quickly pushed Dawn to the floor. "Dawn, get down under the table!"

 

The young girl was quickly followed by Anya, who ducked under the table without a second thought. Tara gripped the kitten with her left hand as Willow grabbed her right, moments before the two witches shared a nervous smile and ducked under the table... and just seconds before a row of arrows appeared in the wall right where they had been sitting. 

Buffy grabbed a bag from the floor and tossed it to Spike, just as Giles' agitated voice came from the driver's seat. "Weapons?"

Spike shot him an incredulous look, exasperation shining in his blue eyes. "Hello! You're driving one!" 

Giles glared at the vampire, but he quickly followed his advice. The RV started moving speedily from left to right as he frantically spun the steering wheel, trying his best to either hit the horses or at least keep them at bay. A loud thud from the roof let the Winnebago's passengers know just how successful his attempts were, however. Xander's dark eyes moved towards the ceiling, a wary expression in them. 

"What was--"

Xander's words were cut off as a sword plunged through the ceiling, missing his head by less than an inch. His mouth silently opened and closed a few times before he dropped to his knees and joined the others on the floor. As the sword was pulled out and then thrust back down several times, Spike quickly continued searching through the bag of weapons while Buffy moved towards the rear of the room. 

"Stay low!" she called out warningly. "Watch out for the--"

The sword suddenly came though the ceiling directly over Buffy's head, moving so fast that the Slayer didn't even have time to react. Before it could pierce her skull, however, Spike reached up and grabbed it, stopping it with mere inches to spare. The vampire grimaced in pain as the weapon cut into his hands when its owner struggled to pull it free. 

"Now might be a good time for something heroic," he gasped out.

As Buffy looked frantically around, trying to come up with some sort of plan, the others gingerly moved out from under the table. When Dawn tried to follow their example, however, she was quickly pushed back under by a nervous-looking Willow. Before she could shoot and indignant remark at the red-haired witch, though, something happened that pushed the though completely from her mind -- a voice, quiet yet filled with a sense of urgency, sounded in her head. 

_"Tell him to let go of the sword when you tell him to."_

 

The teenager's dark eyes moved frantically around the room, searching for a sign to whom the voice belonged to. All she saw was the Scoobies, though, none of whom appeared to have heard the quiet words. 

_"What are you waiting for? Tell him to let go of the sword, and then tell your driver to hit the brakes."_

Uncertainly shining in her eyes, Dawn pulled herself up so that she was kneeling on the floor by the table. In a determined voice that reminded everyone in the room, including herself, painfully of Joyce, she turned towards Spike and then Giles. 

"When I say so, you let go of the sword, and you slam on the brakes."

 

Everyone in the room turned their eyes towards her, surprise showing clearly on their faces. She merely gave them a look that said she wasn't joking before catching Spike's eyes. 

"Now!" she said firmly.

The blond-haired vampire let go of the sword the moment the words left her mouth, followed almost instantaneously by Giles slamming on the RV's brakes. Squealing loudly, the vehicle slid to a stop -- causing the knight that had been standing on top to go flying. 

As soon as he landed on the ground slightly to the side of the road, Giles didn't even need the warnings of his passengers to let him know that he needed to put his foot down firmly on the accelerator. More knights were appearing behind the vehicle, and none of its occupants were looking forwards to a repeat of the events that had just drawn to a close.

Dawn could feel everyone's eyes on her, but her mind was too busy contemplating the voice she had heard to pay them much attention. It had sounded vaguely familiar for some reason, almost as if she had heard the speaker before. She was fairly certain, however, that she had never known anyone who had spoken with the type of accent that the voice had been thick with. Even so, she couldn't help but feel as if... 

_"Tell the Watcher to twist the steering wheel right now!"_

She gasped as the voice roared in her brain, but she didn't hesitate to follow its directions. Without even pausing to think, she spun her head in Giles' direction. 

"Spin the steering wheel! Right now!"

When Giles heard the desperateness in her voice, he followed her directions without a thought. There were muffled cries as the RV's passengers grabbed the walls and furniture for support, but his mind didn't even take notice of them. Instead, he focused on the knight on horseback that had just appeared in front of the vehicle, a large spear held in his hand. A startled expression appeared on his face as he turned the wheel even more, moments before the rider let the spear go flying.

Everyone instinctively looked away as the spear came through the windshield, sending broken glass everywhere. Within seconds, however, they had all turned back towards the driver's seat with fearful expressions on their faces. The worry faded to relief, however, when they saw that the spear has missed Giles by inches, impaling the seat instead of him. The Watcher's face was still pale, but he kept his foot planted firmly on the accelerator as the vehicle moved farther and farther away from the cluster of knights.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes, each of them letting their minds run over the events that had just transpired -- and, in Spike's case, bandaging any wounds that they had received. After a few minutes, however, Giles turned his head in Dawn's direction. His face still seemed paler than usual, and his voice shook just a tiny bit, but there was also a steadiness about him that brought a slight sense of calm to the room. 

"How did you know?" he asked quietly.

Dawn's skin had an almost transparent hue to it, and her dark eyes were wide as she moved her gaze in Giles' direction. Her voice shook slightly as she gave him what she hoped was a quizzical look. 

"How did I know what?" she asked in return.

The teenager started as the answer to her question came from Buffy, who was now sitting beside her. "How did you know that the knight was there?" the Slayer asked. "You had already told Giles to start spinning the wheel before we could see him."

Dawn moved her eyes around the room, letting her gaze focus in on the curious expression that all of the Scoobies shared. She sighed slightly and was preparing to tell them about the voice she had heard when a sudden though hit her mind. Hearing strange voices in your mind wasn't exactly what you'd call normal -- even for Sunnydale. 

"I just had a feeling that something was going to happen," she said softly.

She could feel the disbelieving stares focused on her, and Dawn hurriedly moved the discussion in an entirely different direction. "Am I the only one who wonders what Giles meant when he started about the Magic Box and ghosts in the same sentence?" she asked, her words coming out in a rush.

Like a flash, the others' attentions moved from Dawn to Giles, who was turning slightly pale again as he muttered quiet denials. Dawn smiled slightly as she leaned back against the wall, her eyes closing for a moment in tired relief. It quickly faded into shock, however, when the image of a man suddenly appeared in her mind. He was fairly handsome, with dark hair and green eyes, yet there was an aura of pain surrounding him. 

_"You shouldn't mention me to them yet. It might be dangerous for them if they knew."_

Dawn's eyes shot open, and she quickly let her gaze drift over the room. Spike had moved to the back of the room, where the sunlight that was streaming through the broken windshield couldn't reach him, but his gaze was fixed on the Scoobies gathered around Giles. She could still see the sad young man's image in her mind, however, and she could still hear his accented voice echoing through her mind. A single tear of confusion slid down her face as she leaned against the wall, her eyes held firmly open.

No one even looked her way.


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn opened her eyes just enough to peer around the room as she felt the RV slow down almost to a crawl. With the sun already sinking in the horizon, the foil covering the windshield had been removed -- causing the gaping hole in the glass to appear even more conspicuous. 

The young girl let a tired smile come to her face as she slowly moved her gaze around the room. Giles was leaning back in the driver's seat, an annoyed expression on his face as he stared out at the Los Angeles traffic. Xander was sitting on the floor near her, his eyes closed tightly in sleep. Anya, meanwhile, was laying on the floor, her eyes focused on the ceiling as she used her boyfriend's lap for a pillow.

A quiet mewing sound drew Dawn's gaze towards the table, where Willow, Tara, and Spike were sitting. Willow was holding the kitten, while Tara mock-glared at the vampire. Spike was holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Just because I won it in a poker game doesn't mean that I was going to drink its blood!" he said, feigning innocence. "Besides, those little fur balls taste horri--"

Spike trailed off as both Willow and Tara turned their complete attention towards him, chastising expressions on their faces. He quickly shot Dawn a pleading look, which she returned with a shrug of her shoulders before moving her attention past them and focusing on Buffy.

The smile that had been twitching at the corners of her mouth froze as she caught sight of her sister. The blonde-haired Slayer was standing at one of the windows, peering out at the lights of L.A. that were shining in the near distance. There was an expression of uncertainty on her face, as if she wasn't sure about what type of reception they would receive once their arrived at the Hyperion. Which, now that Dawn thought about, was probably exactly what her sister was thinking about.

Dawn sat there for a moment, her eyes on Buffy, before wearily standing up and making her way towards Giles. His gaze flickered towards her for a moment as she dropped down into the empty seat beside him, but his attention moved back to the road when it became apparent that she wasn't going to say anything. The two of them sat there in silence for several minutes before she finally spoke, her words so quiet that they could barely be heard even by him. "Was it Mom?"

Giles started, and a slightly worried expression appeared on his face. Before he could stop himself, his eyes flickered in the direction of the rest of the Scoobies so that he could make sure that they hadn't heard her unobtrusive words. 

"I'm not sure what you are referring to," he said softly.

The dark-haired girl gave him an exhausted smile before letting her gaze drift over the ever-nearing lights of Los Angeles. 

"That's how you found out the information on Glory, isn't it?" she asked with the curiosity of youth. "Her ghost, spirit, essence... she was the one that told you."

He glanced at her, his face almost expressionless. "And where, pray tell, did you ever get an idea like that?" he asked after a moment.

Dawn let out a weak laugh as she sank down into the seat. "You kept avoiding the subject, especially when Buffy asked you," she replied gently. "You haven't done that since... never mind, it's not important. Am I right though?" 

A faraway expression appeared in Giles' eyes for a moment, and he didn't answer her for several minutes. When he finally turned his gaze in her direction though, Dawn merely gave him a sad smile of understanding. After several more minutes of silence, however, the teenage girl quietly spoke once more. 

"I thought that... that the only reason a person became a ghost or whatever is if they have unfinished business or repressed rage or something. But with Mom..."

Giles merely shrugged when she turned her confused stare towards him, a carefully detached expression on his face. "I'm not sure if I understand that part myself, Dawn. Nothing about Joyce's death seems to--"

"You think that it's my fault," she broke in with a sigh.

Her dark eyes shone with sadness as she let them meet his directly. "You think that it might have something to do with the spell I cast to try and resurrect her," she elaborated. "You think that I disturbed her peace, or something like that."

Giles was already shaking his head, but she could see the emotions that were running rampant on his face. She merely sighed, however, and gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Don't even try to deny it, Giles," she said softly. "Buffy's always said that you're a crappy liar."

Dawn gave him one more tired smile before she pulled herself to her feet and started towards the small table behind him. As she sank back down to the floor beside it, she never even noticed the shaken expression that had appeared on Spike's face, nor the way that his eyes glanced worriedly over her.

*

Glory's anguished screams rang through the building, causing most of her minions to slink into the shadows. Mere seconds later, the hell goddess stormed out of her room, a furious expression on her face.

"What do you mean by 'they've disappeared'!?"

One of her demonic minions, a foul little creature named Jinx, bowed slightly as he hurried after her. "Oh great and wonderful Glorificus, feel free to use me as a way to let out your frustrations for it was..."

The blonde woman help up a hand, causing Jinx to stop babbling immediately. 

"Stop apologizing. You're just taking up my time. The Slayer must know about the ceremony, and now she's taken my Key and is trying to hide it from me," she said with a rush, her eyes flashing as she spoke. "It isn't going to work though, because you are going to find the Slayer and her friends. Now!"

Glory's eyes followed Jinx as he quickly mumbled apologies and promised before hurrying towards the nearest door. As soon as he was gone, she reached up and gingerly rubbed her temple. 

"Damn, I need a refill," she muttered.

*

Giles could feel everyone's eyes focused on him, but he forced himself to hold back his tongue. After a few more minutes of silence, Buffy let out a tired sigh. "Why did you drive right through that 'Welcome to Los Angeles' sign?"

He sat there for a moment, silently asking himself the exact same question, until Dawn shrugged from the seat beside him. "Because if he hadn't, Spike would have kept complaining that it's tradition, you would have staked him, and then Glory probably would have shown up two seconds after you dusted him."

Buffy shot a half-hearted glare in her sister's direction, but the slight twitching at the corners of her mouth took away much of her threatening appearance. The humor faded, however, as she looked in Spike's direction. "If we get pulled over by the cops for that and they discover that we're in a stolen vehicle, I swear that I'll stake you."

Spike smirked at her, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. "I thought that you needed me, Slayer. Remember?" he said mischievously. "If the hell bitch shows up, I'm the only other person who can help protect the 'Lil Bit here."

"That was while we were on the road," Buffy replied, a smirk appearing on her own face as her eyes met his. "We should be at the Hyperion in just a little while, so dusting you wouldn't be that big of a deal."

As the two of them stood there, glaring fiercely at each other, the other Scoobies let out sighs and slowly started to go back to their own business. Dawn leaned against the wall a little harder, her face drawn with exhaustion. Willow and Tara exchanged glances before handing the kitten to the dark-haired teenager before starting to get their baggage prepared. Xander started to help them, but he stopped when he noticed that Anya was still standing near the wall, her eyes moving before Spike and Buffy. 

"Does anyone else see the huge amount of sexual tension between the two of them?" she asked curiously. "I say that they should just go have sex right now."

At her words, everyone in the Winnebago seemed to freeze for just a moment, until the silence was broken by several loud cries of "Anya!" ringing throughout the room. Buffy, Xander, and Giles all looked aghast, while Willow and Tara merely exchanged knowing smiles. Anya seemed oblivious to the everyone's reactions, however, and was instead focusing on the ever-growing smirk on Spike's face.

Dawn quickly turned her face away from everyone, so that none of them would see the grin that had appeared on her face. There was a mischievous -- yet knowing -- glint in her eyes, and for a moment it appeared as if she was going to burst into quiet laughter. It faded slightly, however, as a voice that wasn't her own suddenly sounded in her mind. 

_"Don't you think that you're a little young to be having thoughts like that?"_

*

Buffy slowly stepped out of the Winnebago and joined the rest of her friends on the sidewalk. Then, almost hesitantly, she turned to look at the Hyperion -- and felt her jaw immediately drop.

"Wow. I mean, I knew that it was a hotel, but... Wow."

Spike let out an appreciative whistle as his eyes moved up and down the impressive stature of the building. Then, an impish glint in his eyes, he turned towards Dawn. 

"You'd never know from the outside that one of the world's biggest buffoons lived in there," he said with a wink.

The teenager choked back her laughter as several of the Scoobies turned to glare at the vampire. It was obvious from their faces that they were having similar thoughts though, and Spike merely grinned cockily at them. His grin faded quite a bit, however, as he turned towards Buffy. 

"How do you feel about going inside first, pet?" he asked with a bow. "Angel and company are less likely to..."

"Stake you on sight if I go in first?" she asked sweetly.

The vampire shrugged slightly as he slowly positioned himself behind Dawn. "Well... yeah," he said after a few seconds. "The last time I was here it wasn't exactly on pleasant terms."

Willow's eyes twinkled with mirth as she caught Spike's gaze. "You mean when you tried to get your hands on the Ring of Amarra by killing Angel and his friends?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

Spike threw his arms up in the air at her words, drawing the attention of several Los Angeleans who were walking nearby. "To quote the Slayer, 'Duh!' I was--and still am--evil, remember?"

Everyone stared at him for a moment before most of them let out quiet bursts of laughter. Spike's face twisted into an expression of annoyance, and it appeared as if he might strangle them all. Their minute of semi-normalcy was quickly brought to an end, however, as Giles loudly cleared his throat. 

"As important as discussing Spike's 'evilness' is, we are starting to draw some attention. May I suggest we go inside and never bring up the topic again?"

The expression on Giles' face let everyone know that he was mostly serious, and the Scoobies quickly picked up their bags and headed for the doors of the Hyperion. As they walked, Willow -- now holding the kitten -- slowed down until she was walking side by side with Giles. 

"What are we going to do about the stolen RV parked in front of the hotel?" she questioned him softly. "It's probably going to draw some unwanted attention, especially considering what it looks like."

Giles glanced back at the Winnebago, his eyes moving over the shattered windshield, the arrow punctured sides and windows, the dented fender, and the torn railing on the roof. "I see what you mean," he said after a moment. "It is slightly conspicuous, considering the fact that we are trying to hide from a god."

Willow turned her eyes towards him, her eyebrows raised in question. He merely smiled and shook his head, a quiet sigh escaping his lips before he spoke. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

*

The moment that Tara walked into the Hyperion, she knew that something wasn't right. Part of her uncertainty came from the fact that Buffy, Dawn, Xander, and Anya were standing just inside the door, their eyes moving over the room in uncertainty. That wasn't the only reason though. She could feel an air of abandonment permeating the entire building, but -- judging from the various items that were laying around the room, giving it a lived-in appearance -- its residents had only been gone for a few days.

Her thoughts were brought to a close as Spike pushed past her into the room. "Honey, we're hom-- Bloody hell."

From behind her, Giles' voice suddenly rang out. "My thoughts exactly."

*

Spike hesitantly placed his hand on Dawn's shoulder and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze -- earning him a tired, half-hearted smile from her and an almost murderous glare from her sister. He merely shrugged in Buffy's direction, however, as Dawn pulled her legs up under her and leaned against him with an exhausted sigh. The Slayer rolled her eyes, but the vampire saw a slight glint in them as she flung her hands up in exasperation.

He and Dawn were sitting on a small couch that sat in the middle of the room, while Buffy sat in a chair near them. Xander and Anya were searching the upstairs rooms, using the excuse that they need to search for any clues as to where everyone was. They had been gone for quite a while, however, and everyone downstairs had a pretty good idea about what was taking them so long.

Giles, Willow, and Tara were in the office, listening to the answering machine, going through some of the more recent files, and trying to find Cordelia's and Wesley's addresses. Every so often, a surprised exclamation would come from the room. It had been a while since the last one, however, and the Hyperion had once more sank into an almost eerie silence.

The almost unnatural stillness of the hotel was broken as the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the room. Its occupants turned towards the staircase almost immediately, unsurprised expressions appearing on their faces as Xander and Anya hurriedly made their way down the stairs. The young man's dark hair was sticking out in every direction, while his girlfriend's clothes appeared much less orderly than earlier. Running her eyes over them, Buffy let out a sigh and sank down into the chair. 

"Please tell me that the two of you were reaching the rooms upstairs and not doing what I think that you were doing," she said with a sigh.

Anya's eyes lit up a bit, and it appeared as if she was preparing to give the blonde woman one of her speeches. Before she could say a word, however, Spike quickly broke in. 

"They didn't do any shagging, Slayer," he said, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Now be quiet before you wake up the Nibblet."

The four of them quickly glanced down at Dawn, who was laying there with her head in Spike's lap. There was a peaceful expression on her face that had been missing since she had discovered that she was the Key. For a few seconds, none of them said a word -- until Xander's face flooded with realization. 

"How the hell did you know that we--" His voice trailed off for a moment, and a sickened expression appeared on his face. "Oh God, you just--"

As his voice trailed off into nothing yet again, the other three looked up to find him staring at the office door. They quickly followed his gaze, each of them shrugging off the slightly greenish tinge that his skin now held. 

Giles, who had just stepped out of the office, shot them a bewildered look before gesturing for the four of them to come into the office. Xander and Anya quickly headed in his direction, leaving an uncomfortable Spike and Buffy sitting in the room. The Slayer's eyes drifted down to her sister before moving to stare at the office where Giles was still standing.

The blond vampire shrugged slightly in her direction before lifting Dawn's head just enough for him to slide out from under her. Then, with an almost tender light shining in his eyes, he lay her head down on the couch. Without looking up, he quietly spoke... his words aimed at the Slayer standing behind him. "It should be safe to leave her here, since we're only in the next room."

The harshness in Buffy's eyes faded for just a moment, and her lips twitched with the hint of a smile. Just as quickly as it had appeared, however, it faded away -- though her expression had softened quite a bit. Shaking her head slightly, she turned and headed towards the office. Before she was even halfway there, however, she paused and turned back towards Spike, who was pulling off his duster and laying it gently over the sleeping girl.

As soon as he noticed Buffy looking in his direction, Spike quickly straightened up and let his face meld into an expression of nonchalance. The blonde woman merely shook her head and gave him a weak smile that somehow made her appear to be much older than just twenty. 

"If anything happens..." Her eyes traveled toward the sleeping teenager as she let her words trail off for a moment. "I'm counting on you to protect her."

Spike's eyes moved over Buffy in surprise as she suddenly focused her gaze straight on him. There was an almost pleading expression on her face, but her eyes shone with determination. After a moment, he nodded his head before slowly letting his attention move to the sleeping teenager. Without another word, the Slayer gave him a slight nod and started towards the office once more. His next words made her pause for just a second, however. 

"Till the end of the world, pet," he said softly. "Till the end of the world."

*

Dawn let her gaze drift nervously around her, a worried expression on her face. She was standing in the middle of a Los Angeles park that she had loved to visit when she was a kid -- or, at least, that was what the memories the monks had given her said. She wasn't exactly sure why she was there, but there was a reason. She was certain of that.

The sound of quiet laughter suddenly echoed around her, and the teenager spun around. Where moments before had been an empty clearing, a swing set now stood -- and, sitting in one of the swings, was the dark-haired man she had seen inside of her head earlier. A startled gasp sprang from lips before she could stop it, and a shadow of fear moved across her face.

As soon as he saw the fear on her face, the young man quickly stood up from the swing. "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you," he said reassuringly, a smile on his face.

A tremor of uncertainly went up Dawn's spine, but she didn't let it show on her face. She didn't say a word for a moment, but instead let her gaze move carefully over him. Her mind was screaming at her not to trust him, that the odds were that he was merely another demonic creature after the Key... but there was something about him that didn't seem to be threatening.

Dawn let her gaze move to his face and slowly stop on his piercing green eyes. As they stared at each other, she felt almost as if he was looking past her appearance and straight into her soul. If she even had a soul. 

As that thought crossed her mind, she let her eyes drop away from his. Until now, she had never given any real thought to that. What was to say that she had a soul, though? Vampires didn't -- except for Angel, of course. Demons didn't. But where did that leave Anya, who was no longer truly a demon? 

"Don't worry, both of you have souls."

Dawn started as the man's voice suddenly rang out, answering the questions that had never left her mind. Her eyes shot back towards him, fear once more shining in them. 

"How did you know what I was thinking?" she asked in surprise. "And what about earlier, how did you..."

Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened in sudden understanding. 

"I'm asleep," she said quietly. "This is all inside of my head. But... You aren't just a figment of my imagination though, are you?"

The dark-haired man shook his head, a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips. 

"No, that I'm not," he said softly.

Dawn took a shaky breath before slowly walking towards him, stopping several feet in front of him. Fear and uncertainty were showing clearly on her face, but there was also a determined light in her eyes. 

"Okay then, do you want to tell me what the hell you're doing inside of my head?" she asked sternly.

His green eyes darkened just a bit, and he let out a quiet sigh. "To tell you the truth, Dawn... Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not allowed to tell you the truth. Not all of it, at least."

An expression of confusion appeared on her face as Dawn took a slight step backwards. "Okay," she said, raising an eyebrow as she did so. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but... Huh?"

He let out a soft snort of laughter as he looked at the young girl. The way that she was standing, a puzzled expression on her face as she stared at him... It brought back plenty of old memories. 

"I'm not allowed to tell you the whole truth," he repeated softly. "At least, that's what the Powers That Be told me."

As soon as those words left his mouth, a distrustful expression suddenly appeared on Dawn's face. "You work for the Powers?" she asked suspiciously.

He grimaced slightly before letting his eyes catch hers again. "Come on, don't look at me like that. No matter what you've heard about them, they aren't the bad guys. Well... Usually, at least."

At that, Dawn couldn't help but let out a quiet snicker... which was exactly what he had wanted. 

"I'm not even exactly sure what's going on here," he continued. "All I know is that I'm supposed to be your 'guide' or something like that."

She raised an eyebrow at the word guide, but he merely shrugged. The wary expression on her face slowly faded, though it didn't completely go away. 

"So, what exactly are you supposed to do?" she asked after a moment. "Invade my mind and convince me that I'm going crazy?"

He shook his head before gesturing towards the swing set. Dawn stared at him for a moment before letting out a sigh and walking towards it. Without saying a word, they both took a seat and, for a few seconds, stared out at nothing. Slowly, almost hesitantly, the young man spoke. 

"Like I said, I really didn't get a user's manual or anything. All I know is that the Powers decided that you need help, and, for some reason, they sent me."

Dawn slowly looked at him, an almost scared expression on her face. 

"Earlier... You knew what was going to happen before it did. Can you... Do you know what's going to happen in the future?"

He slowly shook his head, his green eyes moving away from her and focusing on an indistinct object in the distance. 

"No, not really," he said regretfully. "I know a few things, but not how everything's going to turn out. Hell, I don't think that the Powers themselves know exactly what's going to happen."

They both let out a tired sigh at those words, turning their startled faces towards each other moments later. After a few seconds, Dawn smiled slightly. "So, I guess that I'm stuck with you for now."

His eyes met hers, delight twinkling in them. 

"Don't you have that backwards?" he asked teasingly. "Aren't I the one who's stuck with you?"

She merely rolled her eyes, an amused light shining in them. It faded after a moment though, a questioning expression taking it's place. 

"Do I really need to not mention this to the others?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head slightly, a reassuring expression on his face. "It would probably be for the best if you don't. Not yet, anyway."

Dawn let out a quiet sigh as she looked away from him, a tired expression on her face. Before he could say anything though, she turned back towards him. 

"You know, you still haven't told me your name," she said pointedly.

His face froze for a moment, a slightly surprised air around him. After a few seconds though, he let out a quiet laugh and smiled gently. 

"I probably should have expected that," he said quietly. "You can call me Francis."

*

Both Buffy and Spike got some curious stares from the others as they slid into the room, several minutes after Giles had motioned for them to come. When they saw the expression that the vampire and Slayer shared, however, everyone held back their tongues. After a few seconds of silence, Willow caught Giles' eye and cleared her throat quietly as he nodded. When the others turned their attention towards her, the red-haired witch let out a tired sigh.

"The oldest message on the answering machine is from three days ago, so it looks like they disappeared around then," she said softly.

The others exchanged glances, but Willow seemed to read their minds as she shook her head. 

"The messages didn't tell us anything about what happened to them," she continued on. "The same goes for most of their recent files... but you wouldn't believe some of the stuff that they've been dealing with over the last few months. I mean, I knew that Cordelia hadn't been telling me everything in her last couple of e-mails, but..."

Tara shot her a quick look, and the red-haired woman quickly stopped talking with a sheepish grin. "But none of that's really important at the moment," she said awkwardly. "We did find Cordelia's and Wesley's addresses though, not to mention the address for Caritas."

Willow started to go on, but she noticed the puzzled expressions on most of her friends' faces and quickly explained her last statement. 

"Caritas is a karaoke bar that's run by a demon called the Host," said with a shrug. "He's a friend of Angel's, or at least he's helped him before in the past."

Before she could say another word, Xander raised his hand questioningly. "So does this Host guy look like a human or something? I mean, I'm assuming that Caritas is for humans since I can't really see demons singing karaoke."

A slight grin appeared on Willow's face, but she didn't have a chance to answer his question before Anya broke in. "Actually, Caritas is for demons and humans. Lorne -- that's the Host's name -- has a protection spell on it so that no demon violence can occur. Oh, and he does kind of resemble a human. As long as you ignore the green skin and horns, that is."

Her boyfriend didn't say a word for a moment, but his eyes widened ever so slightly. After a few seconds of silence, however, his curiosity got the better of him. "Okay Ahn, I'll bite... How do you know this guy?"

The former vengeance demon merely smiled demurely at him and turned her attention back towards Willow. Xander's face paled considerably, but Giles quickly broke in before the dark-haired young man could say another word. 

"The two of you may finish this discussion later," he said firmly. "At the moment, I suggest that a few of us pay a visit to both Wesley's and Cordelia's homes."

"And Caritas," Tara put in quietly, a slightly surprised expression appearing on her face as she spoke up.

At her words, Giles nodded slightly and smiled. "And Caritas."

For a few seconds, no one said another word. Then, almost as if they were one, everyone got up out of their seats and started back into the main room. As they made their way there, Buffy raised her voice loud enough for all of them to hear. 

"I say that Willow and Tara check out Cordy's place. Giles and I can go to Wesley's, while Anya and Xander visit that Carrot Top place."

"It's Caritas, pet," Spike put in with a slight sigh. "And you seem to have forgotten about someone."

Buffy grinned at him, and he felt a shiver go up his spine. 

"Oh, don't worry Spike. I didn't forget about you," she replied, her eyes twinkling. "In fact, I have a very important job for you."

"If you expect me to baby-sit your sister," he said sulkily, "then you're out of your bleedin'--"

Spike's words were cut off as the main doors to the Hyperion were suddenly flung open, followed almost immediately by a young woman rushing through them. Her long, blonde hair hung loosely around her face, and her skin had a pallid tint to it. 

"Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Cordelia. Whoever's here, I really need some..."

Anne froze, her eyes quickly moving over the group of startled people standing around. Her voice was hesitant as she finished speaking.

"...help?"


	3. Chapter 3

Giles smiled reassuringly at the blonde-haired young woman as he sat down in the chair across from her, neither he nor she noticing the startled expression that had appeared on Buffy's face when the woman had entered the room.

"As I was saying, Miss Steele, we just arrived here ourselves," he said with a comforting smile. "Because of that, we're uncertain of Angel's whereabouts."

The young woman gave him a weak smile before sinking down even further into her chair. There was a troubled light in her eyes though, and she couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh as she nodded at Giles.

"I guess that I shouldn't be that surprised. My last... encounter... with Angel didn't exactly go that great," she said softly. There was still a smile on her face as she continued speaking though. "His friends were terrific though. Hell, Wesley even took a bullet trying to help me."

"What!?" Giles, Willow, and Xander all exclaimed at once, their voices mingling into one. Buffy, however, was more interested in peering at their guest very closely.

"Are you the Anne I think you are?" she asked after a moment.

Anne's attention was immediately pulled towards Buffy, her eyes widening in recognition as she finally noticed the other woman. "Oh my... Buffy?"

Understanding suddenly lighted Anne's eyes up as she stared at Buffy, her mouth dropping open slightly. 

"Angel... He was your boyfriend, the one that you... Back when we..." She paused for a moment and shook her head. "I think that I need to sit down."

Buffy let a tired smile come to her face as she walked over the Anne's chair and leaned against its arm. "You are sitting down," she said with a grin.

The two women shared a smile, both of them visibly relaxing. The sound of Giles clearing his throat caught their attention though, and Buffy couldn't help but smile sheepishly. Her Watcher raised his eyebrows slightly, his heading jerking in Anne's direction. 

"May I assume that the two of you have met before?" he asked wryly.

Spike leaned in towards Giles, a impatient expression on his face as he caught the Watcher's attention. "I can't imagine where would you ever get an idea like that," he said puckishly.

For just a moment it appeared almost as if Giles was truly considering staking the vampire, but Buffy's voice distracted him enough for Spike to discreetly move back to the far wall of the room.

"We met a few years ago, back in Sunnydale; and then we met again during that summer after... the whole Acathla incident," she explained quickly. "She's actually the person who convinced me to go home. Before I left, I gave her my name."

Puzzled expressions appeared on the faces of everyone in the room, but they didn't have a chance to question Buffy's words before she stood up from her seat and looked down at Anne.

"I'm assuming that your 'problem' leans towards the supernatural side?" she asked matter-of-factly.

Anne nodded as she pulled herself to her feet, a expression on her face that already appeared more hopeful than a few minutes earlier. "Yeah, it's a large group of vampires. Do you think that you might be able to..."

Her voice trailed off as Buffy nodded, a thoughtful light in her eyes. She gestured for the other members of the Scooby Gang to follow her as she quickly headed towards the nearby office.

"Give us a second to work out a plan," she said with a smile.

As soon as she stepped inside the office, Buffy dropped into the chair behind the desk with a sigh. "Okay, change in plans. Giles, you and I are going to go check out that karaoke place. Spike, Xander... You two are going to help Anne with her vamp problem."

Both Spike and Xander snapped their heads in her direction, aghast expressions on their faces. She merely shrugged at them, however, an annoyed expression rapidly making its way onto her face.

"Neither of you is going to say a word," she said firmly, a threatening expression on her face. "Do I make myself clear?"

Xander nodded grudgingly before letting his gaze drift over to Spike, who was wearing an expression on his face that seemed to be quite similar to a pouting child. Buffy moved her gaze between the two of them once more before rolling her eyes and turning towards the three women.

"Two of you need to check out Cordelia's and Wesley's apartments, and the other one needs to stay with Dawn. And Anya, Tara... No offense, but I was kind of thinking that Willow should stay here, since her magic is a little more, well..."

Tara smiled at Buffy as she slowly intertwined her fingers with Willow's.

"If Glory comes, she should be powerful enough to give Dawn time to escape," the blonde woman filled in.

Buffy started to nod, but she stopped as a frown appeared on Willow's face. The red-haired woman lifted her face so that her eyes met Buffy's, her head already shaking from side to side.

"I get what you're saying, Buffy, but I think that Tara should stay here with Dawn," she said with a quick glance over at her love. "She's just as powerful as I am, and I really think that I should be the one to go to Cordelia's apartment."

A slightly bemused expression appeared on her face as she shrugged apologetically. "I'm not sure if Cordy's ever mentioned Tara or Anya to Dennis, and from what I've heard he's kind of protective of the place."

Everyone stared at Willow in confusion for a few moments before Xander coughed. "Uh, Wills... Who's Dennis?"

Willow blinked, and she quickly glanced around the room. When she saw the confused expressions on everyone's face, she grimaced just a bit.

"Sorry, I forgot that you guys haven't kept in as close contact with Cordelia as I have," she said uncomfortably. "Dennis is the ghost who lives in her compartment. He was murdered there back in the fifties, and he just never left."

Everyone in the room, with the exception of Spike, flinched slightly, but their attention was quickly brought back to the present as Anne quietly stuck her head in the door.

"Sorry to bother you," she said sheepishly, "but it really is kind of an emergency."

Buffy nodded as she glanced in Anne's direction, her eyes focusing on the other woman for just a moment. Then she pointed at Xander and Spike, the expression in her eyes warning both of them to behave.

"The dark-haired guy is Xander, one of my best friends, and the Billy Idol wannabe is Spike."

Spike started to say something, but he held his tongue as Buffy once more glared in his direction.

"The two of them are going to help you, and if they don't work well together just remind them that I'll kill them," she continued on. "Oh, and Spike's a vampire... but he can't hurt humans, so he should be harmless."

Anne raised an eyebrow, but she didn't comment as Xander and Spike dejectedly walked in her direction. Her eyes followed Spike for a moment, however, as she shot a quick look in Buffy's direction. "A vampire?" she asked softly.

"Don't ask," the Slayer replied with a smile. "Trust me."

Anne nodded and started toward the door, but she called back over her shoulder as she went. "We should catch up sometime, talk about how things have changed. I mean, I know that they've changed a lot for me."

"We'll do that," Buffy said, still smiling... though her smile seemed a little more forced than before.

As the three of them finally left the room, Buffy let out a quiet sigh. Her eyes clouded for just a moment as she glanced at the now empty doorway. 

"All of the changes haven't been good," she whispered softly.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for the moment, and Buffy seemed to realize that she had spoken out loud. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she quickly turned back to her friends.

"Does everyone know what they're supposed to be doing?"

*

Dawn smiled at Francis, her eyes lighting up with laughter. She giggled quietly as she sank back on the grass, her eyes focusing on one of the clouds that floated in the sky.

"And that one looks like..."

She paused for a moment, her brow wrinkled with concentration. Then, her eyes twinkling, she watched one of the clouds change its form to fit the image that she had in her mind.

"...like Angel, with his hair doing whatever it is it does."

The man sitting beside her chuckled quietly as he glanced up at the cloud, his own eyes sparkling with amusement. 

"It does look like him, doesn't it?" he asked with a chuckle.

Dawn's eyes immediately shot in his direction, suspicion flooding them. "You know Angel?"

He froze for a moment, the expression on his face one of self-irritation. After a few seconds had passed, he smiled and met her gaze.

"I've met him before, a few years ago," he said softly. "The Powers sent me to give him a message."

Dawn smiled slightly, though her eyes were still slightly suspicious, and she started to speak. Before she had the chance, however, the entire world seemed to grow dim. The image of the park faded and was replaced by a murky gray color. Panicking slightly, she glanced at the man who was still sitting beside her.

His eyes had narrowed slightly, but he still managed to force a nonchalant expression onto his face as he glanced at her.

"Francis? What's going on?"

He shook his head, his attention carefully split between her and the strange environment that now surrounded them.

"I'm not sure, but it's probably not..."

His words cut off sharply, and -- as Dawn watched in horror -- he merely disappeared into thin air. One minute he was there, and the next...

"Francis?" she asked timidly.

Just as she was beginning to panic, a familiar voice suddenly broke the silence. "Dawn? Honey, you need to wake up."

*

There was a hesitant expression on Willow's face as her hand froze, pausing in a fist mere inches from the door of Cordelia's apartment. As she stood there, staring at the door with uncertainty, Anya let out a loud sigh.

"Just knock already," she said exasperatedly.

Willow glanced at the former demon, her eyes shining slightly with irritation. Then, with a sigh of her own, she knocked. They both stood there for a moment, neither one exactly sure what they expected. When it became apparent that no one was going to answer, however, they shared a quick glance. Anya's eyes moved up and down the door, a thoughtful glint in her eyes.

"Do you think that it's unlocked?" Anya asked.

The red-haired woman shook her head as Anya reached out and grabbed the doorknob.

"Of course it isn't unlocked," Willow said with a sigh. "We're in Los Angeles, Anya. No one is stupid enough to leave their door unlocked..."

As Anya turned the doorknob, the door swung open without a sound. Her face began shining with delight when Willow's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening in surprise as she quickly reworded the rest of her sentence.

"...except Cordelia, who apparently thinks that having her own ghost is better than a lock on the door."

Taking a deep breath, Willow slowly reached out and pushed the door all the way open. Sharing another quick look with Anya, she stepped through the threshold. The former demon took a few steps backward as she did, drawing an irritated look from the other woman. When nothing happened, however, Anya quickly followed her in, a slightly sheepish expression on her face. 

Within seconds, however, they were both wearing startled expressions as the door slammed shut behind them. A worried light shining in her eyes, Willow quickly glanced around the seemingly empty room.

"Dennis, we're friends," she said hurriedly. "I'm Willow, Cordelia's friend from Sunnydale. I'm sure that she's mentioned me..."

The red-haired woman froze a moment, her uncertainty showing clearly.

"She has mentioned me, hasn't she?" she asked weakly.

Two chairs suddenly came dragging across the floor, each of them coming to a stop behind one of the women. Anya smiled before dropping into the chair that was behind her. "I think we can take that as a 'yes'."

With a smile of her own, Willow slowly sat down in her own chair. The smiles on both of their faces faded, however, as a pencil suddenly flew off of a nearby desk. It scribbled a few words on a piece of paper that lay near it before dropping back down to the desk. Then, within seconds, the paper it had been writing on was floating towards Willow... stopping only after it had dropped in her lap. As she slowly read the words written on it, a regretful sigh escaped her lips.

"Where is Cordelia?" she read aloud, handing the paper over to Anya.

Anya glanced in the direction that the paper had come from, an almost irritated expression on her face. A disappointed tone in her voice, the former demon spoke out loudly.

"We were hoping that you knew."

*

Buffy's gaze drifted around the deserted room, her eyes running curiously over the mess that she saw. After a moment, she glanced up at Giles.

"Well, it sure looks like something horrible happened here," she said matter-of-factly.

Her Watcher gave her an incredulous look, and his tone of voice was rather dry when he spoke. "Where could you possibly have gotten that idea?"

She rolled her eyes slightly before taking a few steps closer to the stage, her eyes running over the gaudy decorations of the karaoke bar. After a few seconds, she glanced back at Giles. "Look at some of these colors, Giles. It's a fashion disaster!"

Buffy smirked as he blanched, a puckish glint in her eyes. She whistled casually as she slowly made her way to another side of the room.

*

Dawn's eyes sprang open as she shot up into a sitting position, her gaze moving wildly around the Hyperion's lobby. Two strong arms suddenly grabbed her, gently keeping her from falling from the couch onto the floor.

"Francis!"

Her eyes quickly moved to her left, and she blushed sheepishly as her eyes met Tara's. The blonde woman smiled gently before letting her arms drop, a curious expression in her eyes.

"Francis?" she asked curiously.

Dawn's blush deepened, and she quickly looked away from Tara. Her gaze focused on the duster that still lay over her, and she tenderly ran a hand over it.

"I was... having a dream," she said quietly. "It was starting to get... creepy."

Tara stared at her for moment, the expression on her face showing that she wasn't quite sure whether or not she believed the girl's story. After a minute or so though, she merely smiled and pulled herself to her feet.

"Okay then," she said with a shrug. "It's just the two of us, and I thought that you might want to go pick out a room to stay in... at least for tonight."

Dawn looked at her curiously for a moment, her hand still gripping the black leather that covered her. Then her gaze quickly moved around the room, a startled expression appearing on her face as she realized that it was completely silent.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked.

The blonde woman smiled slightly before glancing around the most abandoned building herself. "Giles and Buffy are paying a visit to Caritas, a karaoke bar that belongs to one of Angel's friends, and Willow and Anya are going to both Cordelia's and Wesley's apartments."

Dawn nodded slightly, and slowly started to pull herself to her feet. She paused for a moment as a sudden thought went through her mind. Before she even had to ask, however, Tara answered her thoughts.

"Xander and Spike are helping one of Angel's clients," she said with a smile. 

Dawn nodded again, a smirk making its way to her face as she thought about what that last bit of news most likely meant. As she stood up though, the teenager suddenly froze. Her eyes met Tara's as realization hit her.

"Spike didn't take his duster?"

*

"I can't believe that I didn't get my duster!"

Xander glanced back at Spike, an exasperated expression on his face. His hand was already unconsciously reaching for the stake in his pocket before Buffy's threat rang through his mind, forcing him to regretfully pull his hand away.

"Will you shut up about the coat already?" he asked in annoyance.

Spike clenched his fist and started toward Xander, but a quiet voice coming from in front of them forced him to stop.

"So, how long have the two of you been married?" Anne asked with a chuckle.

Both of them shot Anne surprised looks which quickly faded into disgust. She merely smiled, however, a surprisingly wicked light in her eyes. "Are you two going to stop bickering like an old married couple?"

They glanced at each other, loathing emanating from both of them. Then, with a sigh, Xander held out his hand. "Wanna call it a truce, O' Great and Powerful Bleached One?"

Spike glowered at him for a moment before grudgingly shaking the younger man's hand. As he did, however, he leaned in close enough to whisper in Xander's ear.

"Whatever you say, Walking Buffalo Wing."

*

Willow slammed the drawer shut with a groan, her eyes already moving around the room.

"Dennis, does Cordelia have any other phone numbers?" she asked with a tired sigh.

A small notebook flew off of a table in the corner of the room, and Willow quickly reached up to grab it as it went over her head. Smiling in thanks, her eyes speedily started moving over the names and numbers written in the book. After a few moments though, she sighed and pushed the book away.

"Willow, come look at this!" Anya suddenly called from the main room of the apartment.

With an annoyed expression on her face, Willow pushed her chair back from the desk and tiredly stood up. She stumbled into the living room, her eyes already searching for the other woman.

"Anya, what is it this tim..."

Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of what Anya had found, and a genuine smile made its way to her face. She slowly pushed past the other woman, her eyes focusing on the row of photographs that lined the wall.

The old school library: Giles standing to the side, smiling as Jenny's arms wrapped seductively around him. Oz sitting on a table, a younger version of herself in his lap. Cordelia sitting on the floor, smiling as Xander's hand rubbed her shoulder -- something that no one else had noticed at the time. Buffy, smiling and appearing younger than Willow ever remembered her being, standing near Giles, while Angel stood behind her, an arm wrapped protectively around her and an uncomfortable expression on his face.

Buffy's room: Xander sprawled out on the floor, a pile of pillows laying on top of him. Buffy and Cordelia staring at him, struggling not to laugh. She and Dawn standing nearby, each of them holding a pillow behind her back and wearing a guilty expression on her face.

The prom: Cordelia wearing her beautiful dress, smiling widely at the camera. Wesley standing beside her, somehow appearing to be the epitome of sophistication.

The high school steps: Cordelia and Harmony standing there, on what appeared to be the final day of school, hugging each other with sad expressions on their faces.

The Hyperion: Angel standing in the shadows, a scowl on his face. Cordelia and Wesley each pulling on one of his arms, trying to bring him in the light. An African American man standing to the side and wearing an amused expression on his face.

Giles' home, from just a few months earlier: Riley standing beside Buffy, his hand unconsciously twisting a strand of her hair. Xander and Anya on the couch, her lipstick covering his face. She and Tara sitting on the floor at their feet, their hands intertwined. Giles and Joyce standing uncomfortably to the side, apparently wondering why exactly they were there. Spike standing near them, making a rude gesture that didn't make much of an impression, considering the fact that Dawn stood on a chair behind him, her own fingers forming rabbit ears above his head. The words "Happy Birthday Cordelia!" scrawled across the bottom of the photo.

As her eyes moved to the last picture, Willow's eyes became slightly puzzled. It was a picture of the very room they were in now. 

Cordelia's apartment: Angel standing behind the couch, looking as if he wished to be anywhere else. A slightly younger Cordelia sitting on the sofa, her head resting on the shoulder of a dark-haired man sitting beside her. The man was wearing a blissful expression, as if he couldn't be happier anywhere else. The edges were slightly burnt, though not as badly as the high school diploma that hung nearby.

Understanding suddenly dawned on Willow as she took in the place of reverence that the photograph seemed to hold. Her eyes traveled to the man's green eyes, their warmth and hope captured for eternity, and a sad smile made its way to her face.

"So that's Doyle," she whispered.

*

Dawn grinned as she looked around the dusty room. It was in fairly nice shape, though it could stand for a good dusting. She quietly turned around and nodded at Tara, while -- at the same time -- she tried to stifle a large yawn.

"Yeah, this will be great," she said tiredly.

Tara smiled as she leaned in closer, her arms wrapping the teenager in a tight hug. "Go back to sleep, sweetie."

Dawn yawned again before nodding in agreement. With one more glance at the girl, Tara hesitantly shut the room's door behind her as she left. Sighing in relief, Dawn quickly dropped onto the bed.

As a pile of dust billowed around her, she let out a loud sneeze. Her heavy eyes were already closing though, and within a few minutes she was sound asleep.

*

Dawn stared at the landscape around her, smiling as she recognized it. Though she had never attended Sunnydale High, she had spent quite a bit of time hanging out in its courtyard after school while waiting for Buffy to take her home.

She glanced up at brightly shining sun, grinning as she felt its warmth press down around her. For a moment her eyes closed, and she just stood there basking in the heat. The sound of someone clearing their throat quickly caught her attention though.

As her eyes flew open, Dawn found herself staring into two familiar green eyes. With an almost childish squeal, she flung herself at the surprised young man.

"What caused everything to go so freaky earlier?" she asked uncertainly.

He hugged her for a moment before finally disentangling himself from her arms. As he pulled away, Dawn suddenly let out a loud gasp. Her hand flew up to touch the blackening area around his right eye, concern shining in her eyes.

"What happened?" she questioned him softly.

Francis gently reached out and ruffled her hair, a tired smile appearing on his face. She stared at him, uncertainty shining in her eyes. "Francis?"

He shook his head, while -- at the same time -- forcing the pained expression on his face to the side. "It's nothing for you to worry about, princess."

Dawn gave him a disbelieving look, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she merely shook her head and sank down onto the warm grass. "Of course it isn't," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

Francis merely smiled as he sat down beside her. "You're going to have to trust me," he said gently.

"And why should I?" she asked resentfully. "You haven't told me anything."

He merely shook his head. "I'm as much in the dark as you are."

Dawn snorted as her eyes moved up to pointedly focus on his black eye. Francis stared at her for a moment before finally sighing. "Let's just say that the Powers aren't the only beings interested in what happens to you."


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh my God," Willow said softly, a shocked tone in her voice.

Anya glanced up from the papers she had been looking through. "What's wrong?" she asked curiously.

Willow held up a small book that she had been reading. "I found Cordelia's journal, and I've been glancing through it," she explained. When Anya raised an eyebrow, however, she quickly added to her sentence. "In order to see if she's mentioned anything that might help us find the others."

"Of course," Anya said sweetly.

The red-haired woman shook her head before continuing on. "She told me that the team had gone through some problems this past year," she said weakly, "but she forgot to mention the reason behind everything."

"Which is?" the former demon asked curiously.

"Wolfram & Hart somehow managed to bring Darla back to life," Willow replied dryly. "And, as always, she caused trouble."

Anya stared blankly at her for a several seconds before comprehension dawned on the red-haired woman's face. "And you don't have a clue what I'm talking about."

"Well, I have heard of Wolfram & Hart," Anya said matter-of-factly.

Willow merely sighed as she leaned back in her chair and prepared herself for a lengthy explanation. "It started back in the 1600s, when a young woman was sired by a vampire you probably know as the Master."

* * *

**Chapter 01:** A few days after Spike's tortured by Glory, Giles comes across a prophecy which states that Glory will have only one chance to use the Key's power. When it becomes apparent that this one chance will occur in just a few weeks, they know what they must do - leave for Los Angeles straight away.

 **Chapter 02:** After arriving in Los Angles, the Scoobies are surprised to discover that Angel and his friends mysteriously disappeared a few days earlier. Having nowhere else to go, they decide to stay in the Hyperion until they can think of a better plan. When a young woman comes looking for Angel, however, it soon becomes apparent that there are still innocents out there who need help.

 **Chapter 03:** While Spike and Xander, grudgingly following Buffy's orders, help Angel's client with her demon problems, Willow and Anya hurry to find anyone who might know what happened to their Los Angeles friends. At the same time, Giles and Buffy try to find a way to keep Dawn safe.

 **Chapter 04:** After all their searching, the only information that Willow and Anya discover is that whatever happened to Angel might have involved "interdimensional portals." They do, however, hear some interesting news involving a certain blonde vampiress who had been killed back in Sunnydale years earlier...

 **Chapter 05:** When Spike and Xander finish their demon hunting, they quickly start back towards the Hyperion. On the way, hjowever, they hear some interesting news involving Glory. Meanwhile, Giles pays a visit to a wizard who might have what they need to protect Dawn.

 **Chapter 06:** While Tara and Dawn are alone in the hotel, they get a surprise visit from Lilah Morgan of Wolfram  & Hart. At first, she's interested only in finding out Angel's whereabouts, but her attention is brought to other matters when she realizes who - and what - Dawn is. Meanwhile, Buffy has become engaged in one of Angel's favorite games - beating information out of Merl.

 **Chapter 07:** After a busy night, the Scoobies get together to compare all of the information they've found. Eventually, they begin to put together what happened to Angel and his friends - but they are still at a loss as to what to do about their new information about Glory. When a familiar face from Sunnydale appears,however, it seems as if their troubles are just starting.

 **Chapter 08:** Thanks to Ben's help, the Scoobies now know what they have to do to stop Glory - that doesn't make their job any easier, though. As he tries to get as far away from Los Angeles as possible while he is in control, they prepare to mask Dawn's presence from Glory... and the Knights of Byzentine.

 **Chapter 09:** In order to protect Dawn, Giles goes to the Furies to have a protection spell put on the Hyperion. In the meantime, the other Scoobies use their own talents to prepare: Willow hacks into Wolfram  & Hart's files (both technological and magical), bring some interesting facts to light; Anya, along with a reluctant Tara, browse some of the local demon bars in order to gather information; Buffy lets out her frustrations on the L.A. demon population; Spike is put in charge of protecting Dawn; and Xander sneaks off to follow a lead he found on the long-missing Hank Summers.

 **Chapter 10:** With a non-violence spell placed on the Hyperion, the Scoobies begin to believe that maybe they will be able to keep Glory away for the next three days. They still don't let their guard down, though, especially when Dawn tells them about her dreams of a handsome young man who claims to be her guide from the Powers That Be.

 **Chapter 11:** As Dawn becomes more and more convinced that Doyle is real, the Scoobies recieve news from a surprising source that Glory is on a rampage trying to find the Key before her twenty-four hours are up. When the hell goddess makes her way to Los Angeles, however, it becomes a fight for their survival as they try to race against time.

 **Chapter 12:** With her time up and the Key not in her possession, it becomes apparent that Glory will soon be completely buried inside Ben. Before she lets that happen, however, she swears that she will make the Slayer and her friends pay - leaving the Scoobies uncertain about her meaning.

 **Chapter 13:** Just hours after Glory's defeat, news reaches the Scoobies that the entire town of Sunnydale has been covered in what appears to be an extremely thick fog that's making communication and travel impossible. They quickly realize this is what Glory must have been talking about. In the meantime, Angel and his friends make their way home from Pylea - and are more than surprised to find their headquarters already occupied.


End file.
